The Associated Press: Biden Steps Up Hits On Buttigieg, Warren Over Health Care
Joe Biden is taking aim at Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren during an eight-day tour of Iowa that the former vice president hopes will help him gain ground in the state that holds the first presidential caucus. Biden argued Tuesday that Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is riding his coattails in pushing for a “public option” government-insurance plan to be sold alongside private insurance. He argued that Warren, meanwhile, is out of step with the Democratic Party and the general electorate with her call for a single-payer “Medicare for All” system that would supplant the private insurance market altogether. (12/3)

The Hill: Biden: Majority Of Democratic Enthusiasm Isn't Around 'Medicare For All' 
Former Vice President Joe Biden downplayed enthusiasm for "Medicare for All" within the Democratic Party on Thursday, saying the majority of the party was not behind the policy idea. "I don’t think the bulk of the enthusiasm in the Democratic Party is for Medicare for All," Biden said in Iowa, according to NBC News. (Manchester, 12/3)

The Hill: Buttigieg Responds To Biden's Accusation He 'Stole' Health Care Proposal 
South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday responded to fellow Democratic White House contender Joe Biden’s allegations that he “stole” the former vice president’s health care proposal. “Well, first of all, I’ve been talking about ‘Medicare for all who want it’ since at least February, and also the plans are not exactly the same,” Buttigieg told CNN. (Campisi, 12/3)

Meanwhile, in other news —

The Hill: Former Health Insurance Executive Praises Sanders, Warren 'Medicare For All' Plans
A former health insurance executive offered praise on Tuesday for “Medicare for All” plans put forth by Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Wendall Potter, who spent 20 years in the health insurance industry, told Hill.TV that both policy ideas would create much needed structural changes to the health care system. (12/3)

The Hill: Powerful House Panel To Hold Medicare For All Hearing Next Week 
A powerful House committee announced on Tuesday that it will hold a hearing next week on Medicare for All, as well as several other proposals to expand health coverage, in a boost for backers of the progressive policy priority. The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee will hold a hearing next Tuesday on the Medicare for All bill introduced by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), along with six other bills, including scaled-back, “public option” proposals. (Sullivan, 12/3)

Colorado Sun: Michael Bennet Says He’s Shifting National Health Care Debate. But Even In His Home State, There’s Pushback.
Michael Bennet is predicating his improbable presidential campaign on the issue of health care — more specifically, the need for a public insurance option and not a “Medicare for All” system. ... His moderate voice struggled to register in a campaign dominated by far-reaching policy ideas, but now as the first early-state caucus approaches, Bennet believes his message is starting to take hold. The problem: So far his big ideal is not translating into more support for his campaign. (Frank, 12/3)

The New York Times: 200,000 Uninsured Americans To Get Free H.I.V.-Prevention Drugs
With donated drugs and services provided by major pharmacy chains, 200,000 uninsured Americans will gain access to H.I.V.-preventive medicines at no cost, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday. The announcement, by Alex M. Azar II, the health and human services secretary, essentially explained how the government plans to distribute the drugs for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, that were promised in May by the drugmaker Gilead Sciences. (McNeil, 12/3)

The Associated Press: Health Program Offers Free HIV Prevention Drug To Uninsured
Expanding access to what’s called PrEP — for pre-exposure prophylaxis — is one key to the Trump administration’s ambitious goal of ending the nation’s HIV epidemic by 2030. “We have the tools to stop the spread of HIV in its tracks. It’s about execution,” Azar told The Associated Press. (12/3)

Stat: Trump Administration Will Provide HIV Prevention Drug For Free To Uninsured
To reach the goal of stopping HIV transmission, health authorities estimate that 95% of infected people must be diagnosed, 95% of the diagnosed must be virally suppress by HIV drugs, and 50% of at risk people must be using PrEP. Data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the country is currently off the mark on all three counts, the latter two by large margins. (Branswell1, 12/3)

NBC News: U.S. To Give Free HIV-Prevention Pills To Uninsured — With One Costly Loophole
Azar noted that just 1.8 percent of the 1.2 million Americans who might benefit from HIV PrEP are actually taking the medication. That low level of access is in part because of the $2,000 monthly list price of Truvada and Descovy, the two Gilead Sciences drugs approved for HIV prevention, as well as the absence of a generic alternative. A generic version of Truvada is set to be released in September 2020. (Fitzsimons, 12/3)

CNN: HIV Prevention Drugs Provided As Part Of New Government Program For Uninsured
The program will cover 100% of the cost of the medication, but it won't cover the costs of clinic visits and lab tests that an individual would need to obtain or renew a PrEP prescription. Azar said these other services are often available at low or no cost from many health care providers, including federally qualified health centers that serve those who don't have health insurance or are ineligible for Medicaid. (Kounang, 12/3)

The Advocate: PrEP To Be Available For Free Even If You're Uninsured
Three major drugstore chains, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS Health, have donated their prescribing services for the program, and they will have the medications available no later than March 30 of next year. They will also provide patient counseling services and promote adherence to the drug regimen — for maximum effectiveness, making it virtually impossible to acquire the virus, the medication must be taken daily. These companies have 21,000 locations throughout the nation, representing one-third of pharmacies in the U.S. They will fill prescriptions by mail order as well as in person. (Ring, 12/3)

Kaiser Health News: HHS Hands Out Free HIV Prevention Drugs. Do You Qualify?
If you are interested in signing up for the program, here’s what you need to know. (Heredia Rodriguez, 12/4)

The Hill: Trump Officials Unveil Program For Free HIV Prevention Drugs For Uninsured 
There is also a tense background to the announcement given that in November the Trump administration sued Gilead, alleging the company was infringing on government patents for these HIV drugs. Azar said the lawsuit is separate from Tuesday’s announcement, saying it is "not related in any way” to the lawsuit. (Sullivan, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Trump Administration Pushes Efforts To Wipe Out HIV Amid Stalled Progress
Only 40 percent of U.S. adults have ever been tested for HIV, and fewer than a fifth of the people at high risk for developing the infection are receiving the medication that prevents it, the government reported Tuesday. Dramatic improvement in testing and prevention, and better treatment of people who already have HIV, are urgently needed if the government is to reach President Trump’s goal of virtually wiping out transmission of the infection by 2030, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. (Bernstein, 12/3)

NPR: For Black Men Living With HIV, Grassroots Group Helps With Connection, Support
When asked to start a support group for gay black men living with HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, Larry Scott-Walker said no thanks. His friend raised the question in 2015, and by that point, the 35-year-old HIV program manager had accumulated over a decade's worth of experience working in the HIV field, first in Baltimore and then in Atlanta, often leading such support groups. "They were just, like, really sad," he explains. People would come to the groups to unpack each week's traumas. (Landman, 12/4)

The Associated Press: Senate Panel Backs Trump's Pick To Run FDA
Senate lawmakers on Tuesday moved one step closer to confirming President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, the agency responsible for combating a recent wave of underage vaping. The Senate’s health committee voted 18-5 to advance the nomination of Dr. Stephen Hahn, a cancer specialist and medical executive at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Several Democrats opposed Hahn for the role, worrying he would not be tough enough tackling the vaping problem among teenagers. (12/3)

The New York Times: F.D.A. Nominee Clears Senate Panel
Dr. Hahn, chief medical executive at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was nominated by President Trump last month to replace Dr. Scott Gottlieb, who left the job in April. Dr. Norman E. Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, had served as acting commissioner from April to Nov. 1. Although Dr. Sharpless was endorsed by four former F.D.A. commissioners and dozens of patient advocacy groups, he had donated to Democrats, which seemed to weigh heavily against him. Dr. Hahn has donated to Republicans, but not to the president’s campaign. (Kaplan, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Senate Health Committee Approves Stephen Hahn As Next FDA Head
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the panel’s ranking Democrat, voted against Hahn, saying during his confirmation hearing last month he had “refused to commit to implementing a strong policy to clear nontobacco e-cigarettes” from the market — a step President Trump promised in September but has not finalized. Other Democrats split, with some voting for Hahn’s confirmation and others voting against him. (McGinley, 12/3)

The Wall Street Journal: Senate Health Committee Approves Texas Doctor To Lead FDA
The full Senate is expected to vote on Dr. Hahn’s nomination before the end of December, said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R., Tenn.), chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. (Burton, 12/3)

The Hill: Trump's FDA Nominee Approved By Senate Panel 
President Trump's nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared a key Senate panel Tuesday with bipartisan support. If confirmed by the full Senate, cancer doctor and researcher Stephen Hahn would join the FDA at a challenging time: The agency is facing pressure from all sides on how to curb youth vaping rates, with some pushing for a ban on flavored e-cigarette products. (Hellmann, 12/3)

Reuters: FDA Bowed To Industry For Decades As Alarms Were Sounded Over Talc
At an invitation-only gathering late last year, U.S. regulators and their guests huddled at a hotel near Washington, D.C., to discuss the best way to detect cancer-causing asbestos in talc powders and cosmetics. The “Asbestos in Talc Symposium,” sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration, was dominated by industry hands: Most of the 21 non-government participants had done work for talc companies, such as testing and serving as expert witnesses and consultants, symposium documents and other records show. (12/3)

In related news —

Reuters: Johnson & Johnson Says New Tests Show No Asbestos In Johnson's Baby Powder
Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday that recent tests showed that Johnson's Baby Powder was free of asbestos, after U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigations reported trace amounts of the material in the product earlier this year. A total of 155 tests were conducted by two different third-party labs using four different testing methods on samples from the same bottle tested by the FDA's contracted lab, the company said. (12/3)

ProPublica: How McKinsey Helped The Trump Administration Detain And Deport Immigrants
In a pair of executive orders, he ordered “all legally available resources” to be shifted to border detention facilities and called for hiring 10,000 new immigration officers. The logistical challenges were daunting, but as luck would have it, Immigration and Customs Enforcement already had a partner on its payroll: McKinsey & Company, an international consulting firm brought on under the Obama administration to help engineer an “organizational transformation” in the ICE division charged with deporting migrants who are in the United States unlawfully. (MacDougall, 12/3)

Sacramento Bee: White House Delays New Agent Orange Benefits For Veterans
The Trump administration should stop blocking Vietnam veterans with bladder cancer and three other diseases the government does not recognize as tied to Agent Orange from getting the benefits they deserve, two California congressmen said in a letter to the White House on Monday. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Riverside, and Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, sent a letter to White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney saying his decision to block bladder cancer, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, hypothyroidsism and hypertension from being added to a list of conditions that are tied to Agent Orange was “despicable.” (Ibry, Copp and Chambers, 12/3)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Cuts To Food Stamps Are Necessary, Trump Administration Says
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is coming to the defense of Trump administration plans that would cause millions of food stamp recipients to receive smaller benefits. Perdue, a former Georgia governor, and his department have proposed several changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s largest food assistance program. (Darnell, 12/3)

The New York Times: Labor Unions Team Up With Drug Makers To Defeat Drug-Price Proposals
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s bill to lower drug prices has the backing of many of the nation’s biggest labor groups, including the United Auto Workers, the A.F.L.-C.I.O., and unions representing teachers and other government workers. But a wave of Facebook ads that ran this fall appeared to suggest otherwise. The ads, featuring a dejected-looking man in a hard hat, warned that the bill “threatens thousands of good-paying jobs and restricts access to lifesaving medication.” (Thomas, 12/3)

CNBC: White House: Pelosi's Drug-Pricing Bill Would Result In 100 Fewer Drugs
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s sweeping drug-pricing bill would result in as many as 100 fewer drugs hitting the U.S. market over the next decade, the White House claimed in a report Tuesday. The White House, citing an analysis from the Council of Economic Advisers, an agency within the executive office, also said Pelosi’s bill would lead to worse health outcomes and cost the U.S. economy $1 trillion per year over that time period. The report from the administration, which has some health policy analysts scratching their heads, suggests far greater consequences than other estimates for both the drug industry and American consumers if the bill is enacted. (Lovelace, 12/3)

And in other pharmaceutical news —

Stat: Huntington's Clinical Trial Opens A Door To Hope — But Only If Patients Get In
[Perry Stewart] is one of about 800 patients around the world enrolled in a final-stage clinical trial of a drug designed to slow — maybe even stop — the progression of the disease. Though it wouldn’t be a cure, it’s the first time a therapy aimed at the actual root of Huntington’s has reached this far in its development odyssey. And it is one of a wave of therapies to rely on advances in genetic medicine to combat previously untreatable inherited diseases. (Joseph, 12/4)

Stat: 4 Questions Key To Making Sense Of New Data On Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug
The annual Alzheimer’s research meeting known as CTAD was supposed to be a snoozefest this year. That all changed six weeks ago, when Biogen (BIIB) stunned the medical world by bringing an Alzheimer’s drug back from the dead — and vowed to make a detailed scientific case for the decision at the gathering this week. On Thursday morning, Biogen will give that highly anticipated presentation — livestreamed here — detailing data from two late-stage clinical trials of its drug, known as aducanumab. (Robbins, 12/4)

The New York Times: They Pushed Hard This Year To Curtail Abortion. Wait For 2020.
Months after state lawmakers around the country approved some of the most restrictive limits on abortion seen in decades, some states want to push still further. Leading the way is Ohio, where Republicans are contemplating banning nearly all abortions from the time of conception, with no exceptions for rape or incest, and the highly unusual step of allowing women who have abortions to be prosecuted for murder. Especially contentious in the Ohio proposal is a provision that would direct doctors treating women with a sometimes life-threatening condition when a fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus to try to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy into the woman’s uterus.” (Williams, 12/4)

The New York Times: What Happens If Roe Is Overturned? Answers To 7 Questions On The Battle Over Abortion
Nationwide access to abortion is more vulnerable than it has been in decades, partly because of an aggressive campaign by Republicans and President Trump’s election and appointment of two conservative Supreme Court justices. But as The Times’s Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer recently reported, many abortion rights advocates have also blamed their movement’s own missteps. Some pointed to a rift between national organizations like Planned Parenthood and independent clinics. Others said they saw peril in making support for abortion access a litmus test for Democratic candidates. (12/3)

In other abortion news —

Boston Globe: Petition To Block State Taxpayer Funding For Abortions Falls Short
For the third time in five years, a petition drive aimed at ending state taxpayer funding for abortions has failed to garner the support it needed to land on the election ballot. The Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion alerted supporters Tuesday that its petition-gathering drive had not reached the threshold necessary to start the process to amend the constitution by ballot question. (Ebbert, 12/3)

Stat: Senators Urge Medicare To Prevent Bias In AI Tools Used In Health Care
Two Senate Democrats are challenging Medicare’s top official to investigate how health care tools based on artificial intelligence may reflect the flaws and biases of the people who develop them — and perpetuate racial biases. “As algorithms play an increasingly prevalent role in the U.S. health care system, we urge CMS to consider the risk for algorithmic bias and its potential impact on health disparities outcomes,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a presidential candidate, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in a letter to Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The letter was released Tuesday. (Cooney, 12/3)

In other health care and technology news —

Stat: Mayo Clinic Taps Boston Health Tech Leader To Guide Data Strategy 
On the heels of forming a new partnership with Google (GOOGL), Mayo Clinic announced it has hired Dr. John Halamka — a Harvard professor and hospital IT veteran — to guide its efforts to apply artificial intelligence to vast stores of data from patients and devices. Halamka will leave Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston to become president of the Mayo Clinic platform, a unified data repository the Minnesota-based health system is creating to develop new analytics capabilities and digital services. His appointment will take effect Jan. 1. (Ross, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Subsidized Rural Health Premiums Helped Most By Silver-Loading, Ending CSRs
Rural enrollees receiving subsidies on Affordable Care Act exchanges gained more from the Trump administration terminating cost-sharing reduction payments and subsequent state actions than their urban counterparts, according to a new study. While urban areas had cheaper plans than rural exchanges for subsidized enrollees from 2014 to 2017, that flipped in 2018 and 2019 when the cost-sharing reduction payment cuts affected premiums, according to a Health Affairs study published Monday. (Cohrs, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Bundled Payments Get A Boost In Two States With Employee Programs
New bundled-payment arrangements by Maine and Connecticut for their state employee health plans could accelerate the current sluggish growth of that value-based model in the private sector. Carrum Health announced Tuesday that Maine has started to offer state employees, early retirees and dependents access to the company's center-of-excellence program, which pairs patients with selected providers for more than 100 musculoskeletal, bariatric and cardiovascular procedures. (Meyer, 12/3)

California Healthline: Anthem Blue Cross Gets Flagged And Fined More Than Other Insurers
One of California’s largest health insurance plans has distinguished itself, and not in a good way. The state Department of Managed Health Care hit Anthem Blue Cross with $9.6 million in fines from January 2014 through early November 2019, according to a California Healthline analysis of agency data. That is about 44% of the $21.7 million in penalties the department issued against full-service health plans during that period. (Rowan, 12/3)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Health Care Sharing Ministries To Challenge N.H. Cease And Desist Order
Two health care entities ordered to stop doing business in the state will get to appeal that decision during a public hearing in December. In October, the N.H. Insurance Department issued a cease and desist order against Aliera Healthcare and Trinity HealthShare, two Georgia-based entities that partner to offer and market a health care sharing ministry. (Bookman, 12/2)

The Star Tribune: UnitedHealth Group Touts Optum Effect On Its Corporate Growth 
UnitedHealth Group plans this month to open its 500th pharmacy that’s focused on the behavioral health care needs of certain clinic patients. The pharmacy is part of a business that UnitedHealth Group acquired last year and exemplifies how the Minnetonka-based health care giant has diversified beyond UnitedHealthcare, the core health insurance business that remains the largest carrier in the county. (Snowbeck, 12/3)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans Inmate's Fentanyl Overdose Sparks Lawsuit Against Sheriff Gusman: 'This Is A Pattern' 
New Orleanians have become all too familiar with the toll of the opioid epidemic, which in recent years has claimed more lives in the city than gun violence. But according to the coroner and a new lawsuit, a fatal fentanyl overdose one year ago happened in the last place where people should have access to illicit drugs: the city's jail. Last week, relatives filed a suit in federal court alleging that the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the jail’s private health care provider failed to take steps that would have prevented the death of 28-year-old Edward Patterson. (Sledge, 12/3)

The Associated Press: Tennessee Doctor Pleads Guilty To Overprescribing Opioids
A Tennessee doctor who lost five patients to fatal overdoses in 10 months now faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. News outlets report 64-year-old Dr. Darrel Rinehart pleaded guilty Monday to prescribing drugs without medical necessity. U.S. Attorney Don Cochran says Rinehart also admitted to unreasonably distributing opioids and other substances to multiple patients. (12/3)

Kaiser Health News: Built For Counterterrorism, This High-Tech Machine Is Now Used To Detect Fentanyl
Sarah Mackin runs a cotton swab around the inside of a tiny plastic baggie that appears empty. She spreads whatever residue the swab picked up onto a test strip that resembles a Band-Aid, then slides the strip into a buzzing machine about the size of a boxed, take-home pie. Then she waits, hoping for information that she can share with Boston’s community of opioid users. Mackin is using an MX908, a mass spectrometer initially marketed as a counterterrorism tool. (Bebinger, 12/4)

MPR: Minn. Poison Centers See Spike In Calls Related To Painkiller Gabapentin
As doctors began shying away from prescribing opioid painkillers due to their potential for addiction and abuse, other drugs began filling that void. Gabapentin, a non-opioid painkiller often sold under the brand Neurontin, was one of them. But increases in gabapentin prescriptions came along with some unintended consequences — more cases of the drug being misused, causing poisonings and being used in suicide attempts, according to a new study by University of Pittsburgh researchers. (Nelson, 12/3)

New Hampshire Public Radio: Opioid Overdoses Are Down And Narcan Use Is Up In Manchester
More people in Manchester and Nashua have been using Narcan this year to revive someone who has overdosed on opioids. The data comes from American Medical Response, which provides emergency response services in southern New Hampshire. (Gibson, 12/4)

PBS NewsHour: What Newly Released Emails Reveal About OxyContin, Purdue Pharma And The Sackler Family
The U.S. opioid epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. A reckoning for the manufacturers, marketers and distributors of these drugs has now begun -- but despite several multibillion dollar settlements, some states and municipalities say accountability and transparency for the companies is lacking. (Nawaz, 12/3)

The Hill: Survey: 37 Percent Of Americans Plan To Skip Flu Vaccine This Season
Thirty-seven percent of American adults don't plan to get flu shots this season, according to a poll released Tuesday. A survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago found those who don't plan to get shots have concerns about the side effects of the vaccine or think it doesn't work very well. (Hellmann, 12/3)

CNN: A Hospital Had 9 Flu Cases At This Time Last Year. This Year, It Had More Than 1,400
When Donna Bonin's 13-year-old son recently came down with a sky-high fever, she thought to herself: This can't be the flu. It's November. But Bonin is an experienced mother of seven, and she'd never seen any of her children so sick. She brought Adrian to the emergency room at Children's Hospital New Orleans, where he was, indeed, diagnosed with influenza. Adrian is in good company during what has proven to be an extraordinary fall for the flu in parts of the country, causing strain and long waits in the emergency room in some hospitals. (Cohen, 12/3)

Georgia Health News: Georgia And The South Feeling Brunt Of The Flu
Flu activity is high in seven Southern states, including Georgia, according to the CDC.The state’s Department of Public Health reported that 5.31 percent of Georgia outpatient visits were reported as influenza-like illnesses during the week ending Nov. 23. That percentage has steadily climbed since the flu season began. (Miller, 12/3)

MPR: Health Officials Wait To See If The Flu Vaccine Will Prove Effective In Minnesota
Health officials say Minnesotans soon will experience the full punch of flu season, and it’s not too late to get vaccinated. The process of acquiring a vaccine against a virus connected to thousands of hospitalizations in the state every year has not varied much over the years. (Roth, 12/4)

The New York Times: The Beauty Myth For Boys
As long as I have been a pediatrician, boys have told me — usually in not so many words — that they feel the exact same body pressures girls do, just in different directions. This body-sense emerges earlier than we might expect thanks to the younger onset of puberty, which has moved squarely into the elementary school years, yes for both boys and girls. The difference is that female body changes tend to be obvious from the start; not so for the male ones. (Natterson, 12/3)

The New York Times: Fake Meat Vs. Real Meat
The meat industry has a warning for consumers: Beware of plant-based meat. That is the message behind a marketing campaign by the Center for Consumer Freedom, a public relations firm whose financial supporters have included meat producers and others in the food industry. In recent weeks the group has placed full-page ads in The New York Times and other newspapers raising health concerns about plant-based meat substitutes like the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, which are designed to look, taste and even appear to bleed like real meat. (O'Connor, 12/3)

The New York Times: This Woman Wants To Help Regulate Your Period With Food
A few months ago, in a conference room at the Yard, a co-working space in Manhattan, a group of female employees were updating their boss, Alisa Vitti, on their latest projects and the state of their hormones. “I’m in my luteal phase right now, so very into organization,” said one woman, citing the second phase of her menstrual cycle as explanation for the series of perfectly structured charts she was presenting on a screen at the front of the room. (Schiffer, 12/4)

CNN: Reduce Cholesterol Earlier In Life To Prevent Heart Problems Later, Study Says
To prevent heart problems later in life, people 45 and younger with higher levels of bad cholesterol might want to change their eating and exercise habits, or even talk to their doctor about medications such as statins, a new study says. The study, published in the medical journal the Lancet on Tuesday, is one of the most comprehensive analyses of the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease related to what's known as non-HDL cholesterol. (Christensen, 12/4)

The New York Times: 25 Again? How Exercise May Fight Aging
Regular exercise throughout adulthood may protect our muscles against age-related loss and damage later, according to an interesting new study of lifelong athletes and their thighs. The study finds that active older men’s muscles resemble, at a cellular level, those of 25-year-olds and weather inflammatory damage much better than the muscles of sedentary older people. The study also raises some cautionary questions about whether waiting until middle age or later to start exercising might prove to be challenging for the lifelong health of our muscles. (Reynolds, 12/4)

NPR: Physician BJ Miller's Freak Accident Taught Him How To Ease Suffering
When BJ Miller was a sophomore at Princeton University, he climbed atop a commuter train that had been parked for the night. What began as a lark took a tragic turn when 11,000 volts of electricity suddenly surged through his body. "There was a big explosion, a big flash of light, and I was thrown ... quite some distance," Miller says. "My body was literally smoking." (Gross, 12/3)

Iowa Public Radio: As The Kidney Transplant List Grows, Iowans Seek Out Living Donors
Across the country, nearly 95,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant, including more than 500 in Iowa, and that list has been growing for years. This has pushed some to try unusual ways to find donors. (Krebs, 12/3)

The New York Times: Rikers Guards Stood By For 7 Minutes As Inmate Tried To Hang Himself
At least four New York City correction officers failed to act for seven minutes as an 18-year-old detainee tried to hang himself at the Rikers Island jail complex, with some of them watching the suicide attempt before intervening, according to four people with knowledge of the matter. The officers have been suspended while the city’s Department of Investigation conducts an inquiry, officials said. The inmate was hospitalized and put into a medically induced coma on Tuesday, the people said. (Shanahan and Rashbaum, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Texas Sues HHS Over $25 Million In Medicaid Payments
Texas sued HHS on Monday over a decision that would force the state to pay back more than $25 million in supplemental Medicaid payments. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission said in its complaint that HHS exceeded its authority when it concluded that the state made improper uncompensated-care payments to private hospitals. The agency's decision would allow the CMS to claw back the matching Medicaid funds it paid to the state for providing uncompensated care. (Brady, 12/3)

Modern Healthcare: Fewer Rural Students Are Enrolling In Medical School
The number of students enrolled in medical school from rural areas of the U.S. dropped by 28% over a 15-year period, with students from those communities representing less than 5% of total incoming medical students in 2017, according to a new study in Health Affairs. The findings, published Tuesday from staff at the Association of American Medical Colleges, come as the nation faces a physician shortage in rural communities. A frequently cited 2010 study from the University of Washington School of Medicine found only 11.4% of physicians practice in rural settings although 19.2% of the population lives in those areas. (Castellucci, 12/3)

Kaiser Health News: An Atlanta Nonprofit Brings Medical Care And Connection To The Homeless
Herman Ware got his seasonal flu shot while sitting at a small, wobbly table inside a mobile health clinic. The clinic-on-wheels is a large converted van, and on this day it was parked on a trash-strewn, dead-end street in downtown Atlanta where homeless residents congregate. The van and Ware’s flu shot are part of a “street medicine” program designed to bring health care to people who haven’t been able to pay much attention to their medical needs. For those who struggle to find a hot meal or a place to sleep, health care can take a back seat. (Whitehead, 12/4)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rape Kit Bill To Move Forward After Pressure From Josh Kaul
A key Republican lawmaker said Tuesday he will advance a bill aimed at preventing delays in testing sexual assault evidence after Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul held a press conference urging him to do so. Rep. Joe Sanfelippo of New Berlin has not yet held a public hearing on a bill with bipartisan support that already passed the state Senate and will be signed by Gov. Tony Evers should he receive it. (Beck, 12/3)

The New York Times: They Ended Up In Decrepit Housing In Newark. Is New York To Blame?
Julie Rodriguez’s apartment in Newark was so cold that the water in her dog’s bowl froze. At times, Sha-kira Jones’s apartment did not have heat or electricity. In Loreal Bell’s apartment, raw sewage seeped into the basement. All three women had moved out of the New York City shelter system into what they described as decrepit conditions in Newark through a rental assistance program. (Stewart, 12/3)

The Acadiana Advocate: Jennings Hospital, Lafayette General Explore Merger; LGH Would Lease Facility 
Jennings American Legion Hospital and Lafayette General Health have signed a letter of intent, an initial step, to explore a merger, by which LGH will assume management and operations of JALH. The announcement was made Tuesday in an issued statement by LGH. Under the proposed structure, LGH will lease the hospital, its clinics, physical plant and equipment through an agreement with the local American Legion Post, the owner, which founded the 49-bed, acute care institution in 1952. LGH spokeswoman Patricia Thompson said the attorney general must approve any agreement that JALH and LGH reach. (12/3)

Houston Chronicle: Here’s How To Find The Right Elder Care In Houston 
Mom and dad may be retired and enjoying their lives, but what happens when it’s no longer practical or safe for them to live alone? What are your choices when it comes to caretakers? Does Pop need someone who will be all hands on deck?Here’s how to decide whether independent living, assisted living or a nursing home is right for your loved one, and what your cost options are. (Wu, 12/3)

Kansas City Star: Wyandotte County, Kansas, Reports Whooping Cough Outbreak
Health officials in Wyandotte County on Tuesday warned that cases of pertussis — also known as whooping cough — are on the rise there, especially among school-age children. (Gutierrez, 12/3)

North Carolina Health News: $200K+ Repaid To Feds After Foster Care Errors
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services discovered the mistakes by the Cherokee County Department of Social Services and tallied up the costs during a deep examination of every open foster care case in mid-2018. The audit followed the state’s temporary takeover of child welfare services in the county due to other violations that led to a criminal investigation of DSS. (Martin, 12/4)

Stat: Pharma’s Not Nearly As Excited For Cures 2.0 — Yet
The bipartisan duo behind a 2016 law that poured billions into medical research want to repeat their success. But so far, the pharmaceutical industry that helped push the first version across the finish line isn’t nearly so eager to lend the new effort much support. The 21st Century Cures Act has been lauded since its passage for both the funding it included and its revamp of the regulatory landscape for medical breakthroughs. (Florko, 12/3)

Reuters: Pharmacy Chains Sue Bausch Health, Other Drugmakers For Overcharging For Diabetes Drug
Three pharmacy chains, including Walgreens Boots Alliance, have filed a lawsuit against drugmakers Bausch Health Inc, Assertio Therapeutics and Lupin Ltd, seeking damages for overcharging for Bausch's diabetes drug Glumetza. The lawsuit, filed on Monday, alleges that Assertio and Lupin struck a deal with units of Bausch to delay the entry of their generic versions of Glumetza and allowed the companies to "maintain a monopoly" in the sale of the branded drug and its generic copies. (12/3)

Stat: As Trump Looks Overseas On Drug Pricing, An Expert Points To France
As the U.S. grapples with rising costs for prescription medicines, the Trump administration has floated a proposal that would have Medicare use a so-called International Pricing Index as a benchmark to pay for certain drugs. Although still being crafted, the idea has, once again, focused attention on the different prices paid in the U.S. and other countries. So Suffolk University professor Marc Rodwin, who specializes in health law, has begun studying payment systems elsewhere and recently looked at France, where retail drug spending declined between 2008 and 2017, compared with rising spending in the U.S. We spoke with him about the different approaches taken by the two countries and what lessons can be learned. (Silverman, 12/3)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Considers Easing Drug Protections To Break Logjam Over Trade Pact
The Trump administration is considering scaling back intellectual-property protections for big drugmakers to help win Democratic support for a new trade pact with Mexico and Canada, according to people familiar with the matter. Many Democrats, backed by labor unions and consumer groups, are pushing the administration to reduce the length of time that leading biologic drugs would be protected from generic imitators in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. (Mauldin, Andrews and Leary, 12/2)

Reuters: Pfizer, Novartis Lead $2 Billion Spending Spree On Gene Therapy Production
Eleven drugmakers led by Pfizer and Novartis have set aside a combined $2 billion to invest in gene therapy manufacturing since 2018, according to a Reuters analysis, in a drive to better control production of the world's priciest medicines. The full scope of Novartis' $500 million plan, revealed to Reuters in an interview with the company's gene therapy chief, has not been previously disclosed. It is second only to Pfizer, which has allocated $600 million to build its own gene therapy manufacturing plants, according to filings and interviews with industry executives. (11/27)

The Wall Street Journal: Novartis Deal For Heart Drug Hinges On Succeeding Where Rivals Struggle
Novartis AG Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has spent the past two years buying up cutting-edge science. His latest deal is a high-stakes bet that the Swiss health-care giant will succeed where many have struggled: launching a new heart drug. Cardiovascular diseases are the number-one cause of death in the U.S., but new drugs for conditions like high cholesterol and heart failure have proven tough to sell. They compete with a bevy of older, cheaper drugs, and cardiologists typically want to see evidence that patients benefit in the long run before fully embracing them. (Roland, 11/29)

The CT Mirror: In A Short Session, Lawmakers Eye Prescription Drug Proposals
With a limited time frame – officials have only three months to move bills through the General Assembly next year – lawmakers say the drug initiatives are some of the most crucial but workable proposals in a short session, and will become the centerpiece of their health care reform efforts. Rep. Sean Scanlon, a co-chairman of the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee, spent his summer and fall hosting roundtable discussions across Connecticut on the affordability of medication. (Carlesso, 12/3)

Stat: Biogen Strikes Value-Based Contracting Deal With UPMC Health
In a twist on value-based contracting, a drug maker has agreed to offer a larger discount that a commercial health plan will receive for medicines – but only based on outcomes that patients report. In this instance, the UPMC Health Plan will pay less for two Biogen (BIIB) drugs — Tecfidera and Avonex — if patients say the medicines failed to help them, based on their assessments using a validated clinical scale known as Patient Determined Disease Steps. If the medicines work, however, both the health plan and patients could eventually be expected to experience lower overall health care costs. (Silverman, 11/27)

Salon: Why Are Drug Prices Rising So Much? Pharma Exec Admits 'No Other Rationale' But Profit-Making
orporations' quest for profits is what "is driving up drug prices and nothing more." That's according to Dennis Bourdette, M.D., chair of neurology in the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, who co-authored a study published Monday that sought to find out companies' rationale for the escalating prices on medications for patients with multiple sclerosis. (Germanos, 12/2)

Los Angeles Times: Trump's Idea To Import Prescription Drugs From Canada Won't Work
President Trump recently reiterated the pledge he made before taking office — that he’d work tirelessly to lower prices of prescription drugs. “Hard-working Americans don’t deserve to pay such high prices for the drugs they need,” Trump tweeted the other day. “We are fighting DAILY to make sure this HAPPENS.” His solution, he said, is for Americans to import drugs from Canada “that are MUCH CHEAPER than what we have now.” (David Lazarus, 12/2)

Stat: Drug-Pricing Proposals Are The Wrong Way To Reform Health Care
Here’s what good health care looks like: it emphasizes prevention, is accessible and affordable, and puts patients’ needs first. Unfortunately, recently proposed health care reforms from Congress don’t look like that at all. Instead, they seem to be leaving patients behind. Lawmakers in Washington are turning to overly complex alterations of the market and restrictive models of care that do little to directly help patients now. To get a clearer picture, they need to start listening to patients. (Liz Helms, 11/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Pelosi’s Never-Ending Trade Demands
Robert Lighthizer has bent over backward to win labor support for the U.S. trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, but House Democrats are still ordering the U.S. Trade Rep to perform more somersaults. ... One demand is to reduce protections for biologic drugs such as gene and cell therapies. The USMCA includes 10 years of market exclusivity, which is five more than Mexico currently provides and two more than Canada. The U.S. allows drug makers to sell biologics for 12 years before generic biosimilars can be introduced. (12/3)

Bloomberg: Gene Therapies Get A $3 Billion Vote Of Confidence
Gene therapies — treatments that replace faulty genetic code to fight deadly diseases — are still in their infancy. Just two have been approved in the U.S. so far. But they got a big vote of confidence after the close of U.S. trading Monday when Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. announced it was buying Audentes Therapeutics Inc., a Bay Area developer of gene therapies, for $3 billion. The acquisition is a gamble for Astellas. It’s paying a substantial 110% premium over Audentes’s closing stock price on Monday, and the deal could constrain its ability to buy anything else of significance. And while there’s been a lot of progress in gene therapy — some treatments look like potential cures — no company has proved it can turn promise into sustained commercial success yet. Still, it may be worth the risk. (Max Nisen, 12/4)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: One In Four Children Have Immigrant Parents. Should They Go Without Health Care?
New federal regulations say that using too many public benefits could keep foreign-born parents from permanent residency and a path to citizenship. The fear and confusion surrounding this new “public charge” policy may cause immigrant parents to go without health care assistance, like Medicaid coverage, for themselves and their children — even though they qualify because of low household incomes and because they are, in fact, U.S. citizens. According to the Urban Institute, nearly 90% of children born to immigrant parents are U.S. citizens. More than 60% of children born to immigrant parents have at least one parent who is a citizen. (Andy Carter, 12/3)

The Washington Post: Biden And Buttigieg Say You Can Keep Your Health-Care Plan. They’re Lying — Just Like Obama.
In 2009, President Barack Obama promised that under Obamacare, “If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” Millions of Americans believed him, and millions of Americans lost their health-care plans. Obama’s promise was a lie and his administration knew it. As Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber later explained, “the stupidity of the American voter … was really, really critical for the thing to pass.”Well, apparently some Democrats still think you are stupid. Because a decade later, they are at it again. (Marc A. Thiessen, 12/3)

Chicago Tribune: Health Care Pricing Is Getting More Transparent, Finally
In today’s information age, the average person can empower himself or herself with knowledge like never before. But there is one notable exception: Most Americans have no idea what a health care service costs before they get it. If we expect to lower health care costs, that must change. Companies in every other industry compete for consumers on the basis of cost and quality. Decisions made by informed consumers drive companies to deliver the products people want at prices they can afford. (Seema Verma, 12/3)

Boston Globe: Choosing A Plan From The Impossible Health Care Maze
In this highly partisan political moment, there’s one issue that nearly every American can agree on: Our health care system is a mess and in need of dramatic overhaul. That’s not just because it is absurdly expensive compared to other developed countries. It’s also because the system is so dauntingly complex. That complexity derives in large part because the health care system has been driven significantly by profit, rather than by measures of health. (Elisabeth Rosenthal, 12/4)

The Hill: Reducing Maternal Mortality In Rural America
Women who live in rural areas of the United States are more likely to die from pregnancy-related deaths than urban women, although two thirds of these deaths are preventable. As former governors, we have seen firsthand how access to maternal health care is a major challenge in rural communities. We also know the situation will only worsen in the coming years if no action is taken at the federal level to address hospital closures, workforce shortages, and payment structure issues.  (Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, 12/3)

Stat: U.S. Continues To Lead The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance 
One of the greatest threats to public health today, in the United States and around the world, isn’t a new exotic hazard. It’s antibiotic resistance: the potential failure of one of our most important and well-known disease-fighting tools. The latest Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report, recently published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that antibiotic-resistant (AR) infections — when germs defeat the drugs designed to kill them — cause more than 35,000 deaths each year in the United States. (Secretary of HHS Alex Azar and Director of CDC Robert Redfield, 10/4)

Bloomberg: Astellas Deal For Audentes Is Gene Therapy Vote Of Confidence 
Gene therapies — treatments that replace faulty genetic code to fight deadly diseases — are still in their infancy. Just two have been approved in the U.S. so far. But they got a big vote of confidence after the close of U.S. trading Monday when Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc. announced it was buying Audentes Therapeutics Inc., a Bay Area developer of gene therapies, for $3 billion. The acquisition is a gamble for Astellas. It’s paying a substantial 110% premium over Audentes’s closing stock price on Monday, and the deal could constrain its ability to buy anything else of significance. And while there’s been a lot of progress in gene therapy — some treatments look like potential cures — no company has proved it can turn promise into sustained commercial success yet. Still, it may be worth the risk. (Max Nisen, 12/3)

Los Angeles Times: Addicted Mothers Like Chelsea Becker Deserve A Break, Not Prison
I had conflicting reactions to the story of Chelsea Becker, the 25-year-old Hanford, Calif., meth addict who delivered a stillborn baby boy in September: revulsion, sadness, pity, sympathy. An autopsy showed that the baby, Zachariah, had what prosecutors allege were “toxic levels” of methamphetamine in his system. Becker is now in jail on suspicion of murdering him. My colleague Alexandra Wigglesworth, who reported the story, visited Becker in jail, where she’s being held in lieu of $5 million bail. “I didn’t kill my baby,” Becker sobbed during their visit. “I wish it could have been me instead.” (Robin Abcarian, 12/3)